The present invention relates to a disk storage magazine which stores a plurality of disks recorded or reproduced by light.
A disk unit has been used widely for an audio disk and video disk or as a data storage unit for a computer, and it includes an optical disk unit or the like.
Optical disks include a disk capable of being recorded and reproduced, which is stored in a cartridge and is mainly used for data storage, and a disk dedicated to reproducing, which is used as the disk only, such as a music CD and a CD-ROM. As the digitization of AV equipment and the fulfillment of AV function of a computer advance at the same time, for the optical disk as well, a function as a widely used digital disk has been demanded for both of the AV equipment and the computer.
The configuration and operation of a conventional general auto changer recording/reproducing apparatus for an optical disk will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 51 is a perspective view showing a schematic shape of one example of a conventional disk storage magazine for storing disks capable of being recorded or reproduced by light. Reference numeral 101 denotes a disk capable of being recorded or reproduced, 102 denotes a magazine case for storing the disk 101, 103 denotes a partition on which the disk 101 is placed and which separates the disks 101 individually, 104 denotes an opening for the disk 101 to go into and out of the magazine case 102, 105 denotes a removal lever for removing the disk 101 stored in the magazine case 102, and 106 denotes a storage portion in which the disk 101 is stored in the magazine case 102.
Referring to FIG. 51, first, the disk 101 is inserted into the storage portion 106 through the opening 104 in the magazine case partitioned by the partitions 103, and is stored. At this time, the removal lever 105 provided at each of the storage portions 106 is pushed by the disk 101 and is moved to the inner side of the magazine case 102 in the direction of the arrow 201. Although ten storage portions 106 are provided in this example, the arbitrary number of disks 101, not more than ten, can be stored in the arbitrary storage portions 106.
The magazine case 102 having stored the disks 101 appropriately in this manner is inserted into a magazine holder (not shown) for holding the magazine case 102 in a recording/reproducing apparatus which records or reproduces the disk 101.
FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing the operation for removing the disk 101 stored in the magazine case 102 in order to effect recording or reproducing.
In FIG. 52, the disk 101 that is selected for recording or reproducing is taken as 101a. Reference numeral 107 denotes a pair of conveying rollers which are provided in the recording/reproducing apparatus to hold the disk 101a therebetween and to convey the disk 101a by rotation. The conveying rollers 107 are disposed near the opening 104 of the magazine case 102 inserted in the magazine holder (not shown) so that the axes thereof are located in the direction perpendicular to the removal direction of the disk 101. In FIGS. 51 and 52, the conveying rollers 107 move to a height of the disk 101a, and the removal lever 105 of the storage portion 106 in which the selected disk 101a is stored is pushed in the direction of the arrow 202 by a lever operating means (not shown) provided in the recording/reproducing apparatus. Then, the disk 101a pushed by the removal lever 105 is moved in the direction of the arrow 203, so that the disk 101a comes out of the magazine case 102. Subsequently, the disk 101a having come out is immediately held between the conveying rollers 107. The conveying rollers 107 rotate in the directions of the arrow 204 and the arrow 205 to convey the disk 101a in the direction of the arrow 206 and to move the disk 101a to the recording/reproducing position.
In recent years, the amount of data handled by information processing has increased more and more. Not only the package software has been made very large, but also on a personal computer, one file has come to handle several ten to several hundred megabytes or more, for example, for digital audio and digital video. As a storage place for such a large amount of data, an optical disk drive unit is effective, which unit has both of the facilities of a high recording capacity and a capability of changing a plurality of recording media. In particular, as a storage unit for large-scale database, an auto changer recording/reproducing apparatus for the optical disk has been developed. For the auto changer recording/reproducing apparatus, a magazine-type apparatus has often been used especially in the field of car audio considering the space efficiency.
Recent audio, video, and information equipment has made smaller and becomes of high capacity, and the magazine-type equipment is not exceptional. Because the magazine-type equipment stores many disks, it has a problem in that the distance between the adjacent disks is decreased in order to decrease the thickness of the whole magazine and to increase the number of disks per unit volume in the recording/reproducing apparatus.
However, in the above-described configuration, since a partition 103 is provided between the disks 101, the thicknesses of the partitions 103 are added to the thickness of the magazine case 102 by the number of disks 101 stored in the magazine case 102. In addition, in order to pull out the disk 101 through the opening 104, a clearance between the surface of the disk 101 and the partition 103 is needed in each tier as an operation margin for the pull-out operation. The dimensions of the clearances are added to the thickness of the magazine case 102 by the number of disks 101 stored in the magazine case 102.
For these reasons, the above-described configuration has a limitation in decreasing the distance between the adjacent disks 101, so that a hindrance is caused in decreasing the thickness of the whole magazine and in increasing the number of stored disks 101 per unit volume in the recording/reproducing apparatus.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and accordingly an object thereof is to provide a disk storage magazine which can increase the number of stored disks per unit volume.
To solve the problems, the present invention provides a disk storage magazine comprising a magazine case capable of being opened and closed; and a disk holding member capable of holding a disk, at least a part of which is fixed and supported on the magazine case, characterized in that in the magazine case, the disk is held by the disk holding member in a densely stacked state, and the disk holding member changes the stacking interval of the disks in accordance with the opening/closing operation of the magazine case.
By this configuration, the number of stored disks per unit volume of the disk storage magazine can be increased.
The disk storage magazine of the basic aspect of the present invention comprises a magazine case capable of being opened and closed; and a disk holding member capable of holding a disk, at least a part of which is fixed and supported on the magazine case, wherein inside the magazine case, the disk is held by the disk holding member in a densely stacked state, and the disk holding member changes the stacking interval of the disks in accordance with the opening/closing operation of the magazine case. In this configuration, the disk holding member is formed so that a clearance in the stacking direction between the disk and the disk holding member at the time when the disks are loaded is made smaller than the conventional clearance or the clearance itself is eliminated. Thereby, when the magazine case is closed, a stacking interval between the disks can be decreased as compared with the conventional disk storage magazine, so that the number of stored disks per unit volume of the disk storage magazine can be increased. When the disk is inserted or removed, the magazine case is opened to increase the stacking interval between the disks, by which the clearance in the stacking direction between the disk and the disk holding member can be maintained, so that a trouble in inserting or removing the disk can be prevented.
Also, the opening operation or the closing operation of the magazine case is performed by an urging force of a spring member added to the magazine case. By this configuration, the magazine case can be opened or closed easily by the urging force of the spring member without applying an external force from the outside of the magazine case.
Also, the disk holding member is an elastic member, and the opening operation or the closing operation of the magazine case is performed by a spring force of the elastic member. By this configuration, the magazine case can be opened or closed easily by the spring force of the elastic member without applying an external force from the outside of the magazine case.
Also, a locking mechanism for keeping the closed state or the opened state of the magazine case is added. By this configuration, the closed state or the opened state of the magazine case can be kept surely by means of the locking mechanism.
Also, soft coating having a surface hardness lower than the surface hardness of the disk is applied onto at least a face for holding the disk of the disk holding member. By this configuration, when the disk is held by the disk holding member, the soft coating portion is brought into contact with the disk, so that the disk is prevented from being scratched.
The present invention of a second aspect provides a disk storage magazine capable of being opened in a folding fan-like manner and closed around a turning axis. This disk storage magazine comprises a magazine case capable of being opened and closed, which is made up of a first cover member and a second cover member; and a disk holding member capable of holding a disk, at least a part of which is fixed and supported on the first cover member and the second cover member, wherein inside the magazine case, the disk is held by the disk holding member in a densely stacked state; by relatively turning the first and second cover members with respect to a turning axis provided at the ends of the cover members, the magazine case is opened or closed; and the disk holding member changes the stacking interval of the disks in accordance with the opening/closing operation of the magazine case. By this configuration, the turning axis for relatively turning the first and second cover members is arranged on the side opposite to the disk removal side, so that the disk can be removed from the magazine case by increasing the disk intervals only on the disk removal side without increasing the disk intervals on the opposite side.
In a disk storage magazine that further concretizes the above-described configuration of the second aspect, the disk holding member comprises an expandable bellows-like plate member having a plurality of substantially V-shaped portions; the substantially V-shaped portion holds the outer peripheral edge of each end of the disk located substantially in parallel with the turning axis and substantially in the diameter direction of the disk; the expanding/contracting direction of the plate member is substantially the same as the turning direction of the first and second cover members; and the vertical length between adjacent pointed tips of the substantially V-shaped portion is changed by moving the plate member in a folding fan-like manner in accordance with the opening/closing turning operation of the magazine case in order to enable the stacking interval of the disks to change around the turning axis and the disk to move in the direction perpendicular to the turning axis, whereby the disk is inserted into and removed from the magazine case. By this configuration, when the magazine case is opened, the vertical length between adjacent pointed tips of the substantially V-shaped portion is increased in a folding fan-like manner, so that the disk interval is increased only on the disk removal side, and the insertion and removal of the disk are made easy.
Also, a part of the substantially V-shaped portion other than both end portions in the insertion/removal direction of the disk is torn. By this configuration, when the disks are held in a stacked manner at the substantially V-shaped portion of the disk holding member, the magazine case is closed, and each disk is brought into close contact with the plate member of the disk holding member, at the bend portion of the disk holding member comprising the plate member that has been bent from a flat material, a restoring force to the original flat state is decreased, and the bend portion presses the disk, by which a force for pushing to spread the both surfaces of the magazine case from the inside can be restrained. Therefore, unnecessary deformation of the magazine case can be prevented.
Further, the substantially V-shaped portion is configured so that untorn portions do not exist in a plane region produced by vertically projecting the disk in a state of being stored in the magazine case. By this configuration, when the disks are held in a stacked manner at the substantially V-shaped portion of the disk holding member, the magazine case is closed, and each disk is brought into close contact with the plate member of the disk holding member, at the bend portion of the disk holding member comprising the plate member that has been bent from a flat material, a restoring force to the original flat state is further decreased, and the bend portion presses the disk, by which a force for pushing to spread the both surfaces of the magazine case from the inside can further be restrained. Therefore, unnecessary deformation of the magazine case can further be prevented.
Also, the disk holding member is configured so that at least a part of the disk is moved so as to deviate from a plane region produced by vertically projecting the magazine case in accordance with the opening operation of the magazine case, and the disk is moved into the projected plane region in accordance with the closing operation. By this configuration, when the magazine case is opened, at least a part of the disk deviates from the projected plane region of the magazine case, so that the insertion and removal of the disk is further made easy.
Also, the disk holding member has a disk holding elastic portion for holding the disk therebetween which is provided on the side of a turning center of the first cover member and the second cover member. By this configuration, when the disk storage magazine is opened in a recording/reproducing apparatus which records or reproduces the disk, for example, even if the disk is subjected to a gravitational force or an impulsive force to the disk coming-off side, the disk is prevented from coming off inadvertently from the disk storage magazine. The disk is prevented from coming off inadvertently from the disk storage magazine without giving an effect on the inserting/removing operation of the disk into/from the disk holding member. Further, the disk holding elastic portion is a part of the disk holding member. Thereby, the disk holding elastic portion need not be provided separately from the disk holding member, so that the number of parts can be decreased.
Also, the disk holding member is configured so that the first or second cover member is provided with an engagement portion which has a slit-shaped opening on a straight line passing through the center of the disk and in parallel with the movement direction of the disk, and engages with the opening to keep the disk holding member. By this configuration, since the disk holding member has a portion restrained with respect to the first cover member or the second cover member in the disk stacking direction, when the first cover member and the second cover member are opened/closed relatively, the bellows-like portion of the disk holding member can contract immediately in accordance with the opening/closing operation. Also, since the disk holding member has a degree of freedom with respect to the first cover member and the second cover member in the disk insertion/ removal direction, the disk holding member can sufficiently increase or decrease the disk intervals in the stacking direction without causing a hindrance to the movement of the disk holding member in the magazine case. Therefore, a hindrance to the insertion/removal of the disk into/from the disk holding member can be prevented.
Further, the engagement portion is accommodated in a cylindrical space formed by a center hole of the disk in the state in which the magazine case is closed. By this configuration, the engagement portion, which engages the disk holding member with the first cover member or the second cover member in the disk stacking direction, is accommodated in the cylindrical space formed by the center hole of the disk when the magazine case is closed, so that there is no effect of the addition of the engagement portion on the dimensions of the magazine case.
Also, the magazine case is provided with a disk discharge spring member for giving an urging force to the disk holding member in a direction in which the disk is deviated from the projected plane region of the magazine case. By this configuration, the disk holding member positively discharges the disk independently without relying on only a mechanism in connection to the opening operation of the magazine case, so that the disk can be discharged surely from the magazine case without relying on the state of the mechanism in connection to the opening operation of the magazine case. Also, the disk discharge spring member is a compression coil spring, or a torsion coil spring, or a plate spring. Thereby, the disk discharge spring member can be made in a simple shape. Further, the disk discharge spring member is a part of the disk holding member. Thereby, the disk discharge spring member need not be provided separately from the disk holding member, so that the number of parts can be decreased. Further, the disk discharge spring member presses the disk holding member at one or more positions symmetrical with respect to a direction in which the disk holding member deviates from the projected plane region of the magazine case. Thereby, a force can be applied to the disk holding member in the discharge direction without deviating. Therefore, an unnecessary resisting force is not produced, so that the disk holding member can be discharged from the magazine case in a stable posture.
Also, the magazine case is provided with an opening/closing spring member for giving an urging force in a direction in which an angle formed between the first cover member and the second cover member with respect to the turning axis of the first cover member and the second cover member is decreased, or in a direction in which the angle is increased; and the opening/closing spring member gives an urging force in the direction of decreasing the angle when the magazine case is closed, and gives an urging force in the direction of increasing the angle when the magazine case is open. By this configuration, when the magazine case is closed completely, the closed state can be maintained stably, and when the magazine case is opened completely, the opened state can be maintained stably. Therefore, the state can be maintained without giving a special action from the outside of the disk storage magazine.
Also, the opening/closing spring member has a protruding spring portion the base end of which is fixed and supported on either of the first cover member and the second cover member, the tip end of which is deformed in the direction substantially perpendicular to the turning axis, and which has a convex component; the first cover member or the second cover member on which the opening/closing spring member is not fixed and supported has a protruding portion having a convex component in the direction perpendicular to the turning axis; and the protruding portion presses the protruding spring portion at least once during the turning operation of the first cover member with respect to the second cover member to deform the opening/closing spring member, by which the protruding portion passes through. By this configuration, the displacement direction of the opening/closing spring member is made in parallel with the movement direction when the disk holding member deviates from the projected area of the magazine case. Therefore, a space used in the disk stacking direction can be decreased, so that the dimension in the disk stacking direction of the whole of the disk storage magazine can be reduced. Also, the opening/closing spring member is a compression coil spring, or a torsion coil spring, or a plate spring. Thereby, the disk discharge spring member can be made in a simple shape. Also, the opening/closing spring member is provided at one or more positions symmetrical with respect to a direction in which the disk holding member deviates from the projected plane region of the magazine case. Thereby, the opening/closing spring member does not give a deviated opening/closing force to the magazine case, so that an unnecessary resisting force is not produced. Therefore, a steady opening/closing operation can be performed.
The present invention of a third aspect provides a disk storage magazine capable of being opened/closed in parallel vertically. The disk holding member comprises an expandable bellows shaped plate member having a plurality of substantially V-shaped portions; the substantially V-shaped portion holds the outer peripheral edge of each end of the disk located substantially in the diameter direction of the disk; the expanding/contracting direction of the plate member is caused to substantially agree with the stacking direction of the disks; and the vertical length between adjacent pointed tips of the substantially V-shaped portion is changed by moving said plate member in a folding fan-like manner in accordance with the opening/closing operation of the magazine case, by which the stacking interval of the disks is changed and the movement of the disk in the direction perpendicular to the diameter direction is made possible, whereby the disk is inserted into and removed from the magazine case. By this configuration, since the disk holding member comprises the expandable bellows shaped plate member having the plurality of substantially V-shaped portions, the V-shaped portion is interposed between the adjacent disks when the disks are stored, so that the disks are stored properly while the rubbing between the disks is prevented.
Next, the present invention of a fourth aspect provides a recording/reproducing apparatus into which the disk storage magazine is incorporated. This recording/reproducing apparatus comprises: a disk storage magazine and at least one recording/reproducing head for recording or reproducing data on a disk, and is characterized in that there are provided magazine opening/closing means for opening/closing a magazine case of the disk storage magazine, and disk conveying means for conveying one disk from the opened magazine case to a position of the recording/reproducing head while holding it therebetween. By this configuration, by driving the magazine opening/closing means and the disk conveying means, a desired disk can be selected from the disk storage magazine easily with a simple configuration when the disk stored in the disk storage magazine configured as described above is recorded or reproduced.
The present invention of the final fifth aspect also provides a recording/reproducing apparatus into which the disk storage magazine is incorporated. This recording/reproducing apparatus comprises: a disk storage magazine including a magazine case made up of a first cover member and a second cover member; a plurality of disks held in the magazine case in a densely stacked state when the magazine case is closed; and a disk holding member at least a part of which is fixed and supported on the first cover member and the second cover member, wherein the magazine case is opened and closed by relatively turning the first and second cover members around a turning axis provided at the ends of the first and second cover members, and the disk holding member is configured so that the stacking interval of the disks is changed in accordance with the opening/closing operation of the magazine case, a first holder for substantially fixedly placing the closed magazine case, moving means for moving the disk storage magazine to the opening side thereof by a predetermined distance, a second holder for substantially fixedly placing the first and second cover members in the state in which the magazine case is open at a position to which the disk storage magazine is moved by the predetermined distance, at least one recording/reproducing head for recording or reproducing data on the disk, and disk conveying means for conveying one disk to the position of the recording/reproducing head while holding it therebetween. By this configuration, merely by moving the disk storage magazine from the position of the first holder to the position of the second holder without drawing it from the stored location by the total length, the magazine case can be opened to increase the disk intervals. Also, the dimension in the disk removal direction of the recording/reproducing apparatus can be decreased, and the magazine case can be kept stably in the closed state or the opened state without completely separating the first and second cover members.
Also, when any one of the plurality of disks is recorded or reproduced, the second holder is turned in the stacking direction of the disks to select the disk in the state in which the disk storage magazine is open. By this configuration, since the second holder is turned in the stacking direction of the disks to select the disk, the disk conveying means need not be moved in the disk stacking direction, so that the configuration of the disk conveying means can be simplified.
Further, when any one of the plurality of disks is recorded or reproduced, the disk conveying means is turned in the stacking direction of the disks to select the disk in the state in which the disk storage magazine is open. By this configuration, since the disk conveying means is turned in the stacking direction of the disks to select the disk, the disk storage magazine need not be turned in the disk stacking direction, so that turning means for the disk storage magazine need not be provided.